Author Description

SCHUBERT Schubert is an elusive figure: of all the very great composers he is probably the one about whom we know the least. And in his short life (shorter even than Mozart's) he was so little appreciated that it was more than a century after his death before the full range of his achievement began to be known, let alone understood. As a result the legend which has grown up depends heavily on fantasy and romantic speculation, and often bears little relation to what facts there are. Mark Rowlinson has written a book which clears the air and offers as truthful a view as possible of Schubert's life and personality. As a lieder singer himself he is particularly well placed to write about the huge output of songs that form the heart of Schubet's work, but the great orchestral, chamber and piano works receive full attention as well in a study that gives life to Grillparzer's famous epitaph on Schubert's grave: 'The art of music has here entombed a rich possession, but even fairer hopes. '